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Over 20 municipalities across Ontario have passed resolutions calling for immediate Provincial Action

MISSISSAUGA and MARKHAM, ON, Sept. 12, 2016 /CNW/ - In advance of the upcoming fall legislative session, two GTA Councillors are repeating their calls for a provincial ban of unsolicited door-to-door sales in the home energy services sector, including furnaces, water heaters, HVAC and water filtration systems. Mississauga Councillor Karen Ras and her colleague Markham Councillor Colin Campbell are hoping that the new legislative session, which begins on Monday September 12th, will see more action on this issue.

"Ontarians overwhelmingly want to see the Provincial government act by banning door-to-door sales in the home services sector", said Councillor Karen Ras. "There are just too many bad actors that tarnish the reputation of legitimate companies that do good work," added Councillor Colin Campbell. "The best way to protect Ontario consumers is to focus on the problem – and that is by banning unsolicited door-to-door sales in this sector."

Municipalities across Ontario seem to agree. Since the "Stop the Knocks" campaign launched in April, over twenty municipalities have passed resolutions calling on the Province to act, including:

Mississauga

Markham

Toronto

Thunder Bay

Hamilton

Oakville

Whitchurch Stouffville

Brantford

Wellington North

Oshawa

Pelham

Georgina

Brampton

Thorold

Pickering

Welland

Port Colborne

Simcoe County

Halton Hills

Kenora

Kapuskasing

"The support from municipal leaders across Ontario has been overwhelming," said Ras, who helped launch the campaign earlier this Spring. "What we really need now is the new Minister of Consumer and Government Services to listen and take action – this fall – and get a bill passed that bans door to-door sales in the home services sector."

Complaints about aggressive, misleading, and outright fraudulent sales tactics by some companies that engage in door-to-door sales activities in the home energy services sector has been a growing problem across Ontario over the last few years. Some companies in the industry have continued to mislead, misrepresent, and use tactics of fear and pressure to sell people services they neither need nor want.

Isaac Rudik and Stacie Sommer are just two of many victims of Ontario's door-to-door home service sellers. They thought that the current consumer protection legislation would protect them.

"Literally the day after we moved into our new home, someone claiming to be from Enbridge showed up at our door to inspect our equipment, told us our equipment had to be upgraded, and came back the next week to exchange it," said Isaac Rudik who along with his partner Stacie Sommer moved to their new home in Vaughan earlier this spring. "Every one of the so-called protection measures the Province introduced a year ago were broken by the fraudster that came to our door", said Rudik. "They even went so far as to impersonate me when speaking with our original provider, and did it after the 20 day cooling off period so that we would be stuck," added Sommer.

"This is not just a Mississauga or Markham issue, but one that crosses every community in the province, from Thunder Bay to Toronto," said Campbell. "I am very disappointed that these companies continue to engage in these deceitful practices. They do not fear prosecution under the current legislation. Homeowners must be protected. Only a total ban on their door-to-door activities will achieve this."

Added Rudik: "The province's existing legislation doesn't work – they need to create a ban and stop this nonsense once and for all."